Method of production of a bent, coated, laminated glazing, and a resultant glazing

Abstract

A method of producing a bent, coated, laminated glazing comprises: providing a coating on a surface of each of first and second plies of glazing material; heating each of the coated plies; causing each of the coated plies to bend in one or more directions such that complementary shapes are achieved to enable subsequent pairing of the plies to form a laminate; cooling each of the bent, coated plies so as to fix their bent shapes; pairing the bent, coated plies about a ply of interlayer material to form a composite such that the coated surface of the first bent ply and the uncoated surface of the second bent ply are adjacent to the interlayer ply; and subjecting the composite to heat and pressure to laminate the glazing plies together.

1 . A method of producing a bent, coated, laminated glazing comprising the steps of:
 providing a coating on a surface of each of first and second plies of glazing material;   heating each of the coated plies;   causing each of the coated plies to bend in one or more directions such that complementary shapes are achieved to enable subsequent pairing of the plies to form a laminate;   cooling each of the bent, coated plies so as to fix their bent shapes;   pairing the bent, coated plies about a ply of interlayer material to form a composite such that the coated surface of the first bent ply and the uncoated surface of the second bent ply are adjacent to the interlayer ply; and   subjecting the composite to heat and pressure to laminate the glazing plies together.   
   
   
       2 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the coated plies are caused to bend by pressing each against a mould. 
   
   
       3 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the coated plies are sequentially pressed against the same mould. 
   
   
       4 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the coating is a solar control coating. 
   
   
       5 . A method according to  claim 4 , wherein the coating is a low emissivity coating. 
   
   
       6 . A method according to  claim 4 , wherein the coating is identical on each of the first and second plies. 
   
   
       7 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the resultant bent, coated, laminated glazing has a coating on its outermost concave surface. 
   
   
       8 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plies of glazing material are heated in a furnace. 
   
   
       9 . A method according to  claim 8 , wherein the furnace is a radiant-heat furnace. 
   
   
       10 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the plies of glazing material is heated to a temperature at which its shape may deform. 
   
   
       11 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plies of glazing material are gradually cooled so as to anneal them. 
   
   
       12 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plies of glazing material are quickly cooled, i.e. quenched, so as to toughen or semi-toughen them. 
   
   
       13 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the composite is laminated in an autoclave. 
   
   
       14 . A bent, coated, laminated glazing comprising:
 first and second bent plies of glazing material joined together by a ply of interlayer material between them,   wherein each of the first and second plies has a coating on one of its surfaces, and the coated surface of the first ply, and the uncoated surface of the second ply, are adjacent to the ply of interlayer material.   
   
   
       15 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the coating is a solar control coating. 
   
   
       16 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the coating is a low emissivity coating. 
   
   
       17 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the coating is identical on each of the first and second plies. 
   
   
       18 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 14 , having a coating on its outermost concave surface. 
   
   
       19 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein at least one ply of glazing material is a pane of glass. 
   
   
       20 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 19 , wherein the pane of glass is either clear glass or body-tinted glass. 
   
   
       21 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the ply of interlayer material is a ply of a flexible plastics material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyvinyl butyral (PVB). 
   
   
       22 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 21 , wherein the ply of interlayer material is clear or body-tinted. 
   
   
       23 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein each of the plies of glazing material has a thickness between 0.5 and 10 mm. 
   
   
       24 . A glazing as claimed in  claim 23 , wherein the first and second plies of glazing material are of the same thickness. 
   
   
       25 . A bent, coated, laminated glazing produced by the method according to  claim 1 . 
   
   
       26 . Use of a glazing as claimed in  claim 14 , as a vehicle glazing.